Oxyethylated lauryl alcohol steam inhalation composition



Patented Mar. 25, 1958 OXYETHYLATED LAURYL ALCOHOL STEAM' V INHALATION COMPOSITION Lester Dick, Keyport, and Thomas Gruhb, Verona, N. 1., assignors to Vick Chemical Company, New York,

N. Y., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application August 28, 1953 Serial No. 377,237

8 Claims. (Cl.167,-54)

This invention relates to improved compositions for use as the medication in steam Vaporizers used for relieving the congestion of coughs, croup, bronchitis, laryngitis and other respiratory infections.

Steam inhilation is commonly used, particularly with children, for relieving congestion due to certain types of respiratory infections and difficulties. The steam is commonly generated; by simply boiling water in an open pot or bowl or by the use of an electric vaporizer; and commonly, vaporizable materials, in particular, aromatics including menthol, camphor, eucalyptol, benzoin, and others, are used in conjunction with the vaporizer so that their vapors will be inhaled along with the steam. Such incorporation of vapors, aromatics, or the like, is sometimes accomplished by placing compositions containing the aromatics directly in the water to be vaporized, and sometimes by saturating cotton or the like with a solution of 'the aromaticsand exposing itto the steam and i sometimes by otherequivalent procedures.

We have found that if an oxyalkylated, particularly oxyethylated or oxypropylated lauryl alcohol with not more than about 10 oxyalkylene, particularly oxyethylene, groupsper lauryl alcohol radical, is incorporated in i the aromatic or mixture of aromatics used as the medication in steam vaporization for the relief or congestion in such respiratory conditions as above are referred to, the eifectiveness of the steam inhalation treatment is markedly improved. The amount of lauryl alcohol oxyalkylated derivative required is quite small. For example, about 50 to about 100 mg. of such a compound, composited with appropriate amounts of the aromatic or aromatics selected, is sufficient to exert the characteristic improvement when used with 500 cc. or more of water which is vaporized in an ordinary electric steam vaporizer.

The new compositions of the invention, containing the lauryl alcohol oxyalkylated derivative, together with the selected aromatics may be provided in a liquid form, in which case it may be placed directly in the water to be vaporized, or used to saturate cotton or the like to be exposed in a steam zone of the vaporizer, or may be supplied in tablet form, with the lauryl alcohol oxyalkylated derivative and the aromatics admixed with or absorbed on an inert solid material and then converted into disintegrable tablets, or the like, which when used are simply dropped into the water to be vaporized. Disintegration of the tablet releases the lauryl alcohol oxyalkylated derivative and the aromatics, permitting them to exert their function on vaporization.

Additionally, the lauryl alcohol oxyalkylated derivative, and the aromatics, may be incorporated in a suitable oleagin-ous base, as, for example, a petroleum-derived base of the nature of petrolatum, or a mixture of petrolatum and wax, or other type of oleaginous base, but compositions so compounded have the disadvantage that the base or vehicle remains in the vaporizer, leaving a residue which is removed only with some difficulty.

When the compositions are prepared in the form of tablets, the tablet base may, for example, consist of a mixture of a clay, magnesium oxide and starch with a small amount of a suitable binder, such as acacia or tragacanth. To simplify tableting, a lubricant, such as talc, may be used. The materials of which the tablet base is formed are not'particularly important'except that they .must be inert toward the active ingredients, and off a nature such that the tablet formed will disintegrate without too much difficultyflA typically useful tablet base, for

example, may contain the following (parts by Weight):

Parts Bentonite, U. SL 50 Magnesium oxide, light 100 Corn starch u 5Q Acacia 10 To simplify tableting, a few parts of talc, e. g., 3, may 7 be added to this base composition.

It is sometimes desirable, particularlywhere the agent used is an oxyethylated lauryl alcohol having 5 to 10 moles of ethylene oxide combined with each mole of lauryl alcohol, to include asmall amount of an antifoaming agent'in the compositions to reduce foaming. For this purpose, small amounts of organo polysiloxanes, such as a methyl polysiloxane described in the article of Rowe et al., Journal Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology, vol. 30, No. 6, November 1948, pages 332, 341'and 347, knownto have antifoaming properties and sold under the trademark of Dow-Corning Anti-foam A,-may beincluded in the compositions.

The invention will be illustrated by the following examples, but it is 'notlimitedthereto. I

V '7 Example I 5 A base having the composition described above, with- 3 out the talc, was granulated with water, dried and re-, duced to 20 to '30 mcsh size. n I granulation was mixed (parts by weight):

Methyl polysiloxane (Dow Corning Anit-foam A) 0.60 Benzoin 0.25 Talcum 3.0

and the resulting product was compressed to 2.1 gram tablets. The product referred to as olyoxyethylene lauryl alcohol was the product obtained by adding 7 moles of ethylene oxide to one mole of lauryl alcohol. One or two of these tablets, used with about 500 cc. water in an ordinary steam vaporizer provides etfective steam inhalation therapy.

In place of the oxyethylated lauryl alcohol with 7 oxyethylene groups per lauryl group, substantially the same amount of lauryl alcohol combined with 5 or 10, or other proportions of ethylene oxide, not exceeding about 10 ethylene oxide groups per lauryl alcohol radical may be used with substantially the same results. In fact, it is probable that many of the oxyethylated lauryl alcohol products consists of mixtures of lauryl alcohol reacted with dilferent proportions of ethylene oxide and when reference is made to a lauryl alcohol combined with 7 ethylene oxide groups, the 7 represents a statistical average, and while the composition contains some, and perhaps a large proportion, of C H (OC H ),,OH, where n is 7, it undoubtedly contains substantial proportions of other compounds wherein n is less than 7, and wherein n is greater than 7. Also, while in any given molecule .90 parts of this 3 represented bythe -formula C H (OC H;),,OH, n must be an integer, it need not be and probably never is, an integer when the formula represents a batch of the material and n is statistically taken.

Example II" I A liquid preparation embodying the invention has. the formula:

Parts Racemic menthol-.. 60.0- Eucalyptol 20.0 Camphor 4.0 Benzoin 2.10 Polyoxyethylene lauryl alcohol 21.0

Methyl polysiloxane (Dow Corning Anti-foamA). 5.2

Again the polyoxyethylene lauryl alcohol may be any of those referred to in Example I, in particular, lauryl alcohol combined with 5 ethylene oxide groups. It may be replaced by lauryl alcohol oxyethylated to a greater or lesser extent, to give products which are substantially equivalent. A few drops of' this in 500 cc. of water pro vide effective medication for steam inhalation therapy. It may be dropped directly into the water to be vaporized or may be placed on cotton or the like and inserted in the steam space above the water in an ordinary vaporizer. It may, if desired, be diluted with a suitable solvent, or may be incorporated in an oleaginous or similar base.

Instead; of using oxyethylated lauryl alcohol, oxypropylated lauryl alcohol, having up to aboutoxypropylene groups per lauryl alcohol radical, or lauryl alcohol which is both oxypropylated and oxyethylated, with total oxyalkylation up to about 10 oxyalkylene groups per lauryl alcohol radical may be used. These give substantially similar results. However, we prefer to use oxyethylated lauryl alcohol.

We claim:

1. A composition adapted for use in steam inhalation therapy which includes an organo polysiloxane anti-foaming agent and as active ingredients at least one aromatic in combination with oxyethylated lauryl alcohol in which the oxyethylene groups, statistically taken, are about 5 to about 10 for each lauryl alcohol radical.

2'. The composition of claim 1 which in addition includes a tablet base and is the forrn of a disintegratable tablet.

3. The composition of claim 1 in which the composition is in liquid form.

4. The composition of claim 1 which in addition includes an oleaginous base.

5.v A composition adapted for use,in steam inhalation therapy which includes an organo polysiloxane anti-foaming agent and as active ingredients at least one aromatic in combination with oxyethylated lauryl alcohol in which the oxyethylene groups, statistically taken,a re about] for each lauryl alcohol radical.

6. Thecomposition. of claim5 .-which,in,addition includes a tablet base andis'theform of a disintegratable tablet.

7. The composition of claim 5 in which the composition is in liquid form.

8. The composition. of claim; S whichin additiomincludes an oleaginousbase.

References Cited in thefileofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,970,578 Schoeller Aug. 21, 1934 2,091,162 Schrauth Aug. 24, 1937' 2,300,769 Berry Nov. 3, 1942 FO EIG TENTS 688,164- Great Britain Feb. 25, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES .Drug and Cosmetic Ind., :6, June 1952 p. 809.

Pharm. Formulas, pub. by Chem. and-Druggist, London, vol I, 11th ed., 1944, pp. 695-699.

Plein et al.: J. of Amer. Pharm. Asso., vol XLII, No. 2, February 1953, Sci. ed., pp. 79-85.

Chem. Eng., vol. 56, February 1949, p. 180.

Barondes: The Military Surgeon, May 1950, pp. 37-9- Schimmel Briefs, No. 10 January 1936, col. 3 Poucher: Perfumes, Cos. and Soaps, vol. 1, 5th ed., 1942, p. 162. 

1. A COMPOSTION ADAPTED FOR USE IN STEAM INHALATION THERAPY WHICH INCLUDES AN ORGANO POLYSILOXANE ANTI-FOAMING AGENT AND AS ACTIVE INGREDIENTS AT LEAST ONE AROMATIC IN COMBINATION WITH OXYETHYLATED LAURYL ALCOHOL IN WHICH THE OXYETHYLENE GROUPS, STATISTICALLY TAKEN, ARE ABOUT 5 TO ABOUT 10 FOR EACH LAURYL ALCOHOL RADICAL. 